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PhyPol / P of polymers

The Polymer Physics (PhyPol) team is focused on the macromolecular dynamic of polymers in the solid state. A peculiar attention has been devoted to the metastability and dynamic heterogeneity of amorphous phases. This approach permits us to explore the molecular mobility and its cooperativity. Some of this research has made possible to develop an application of the thermal analysis in dielectric relaxations, i.e the ThermoStimulated Current technic (TSC).The use of static/dynamic protocols to study thermodynamic transitions (Standard/Modulated DSC), mechanical relaxations (ThermoStimulated Creep/Dynamic Mechanical Analysis) and dielectric relaxations (ThermoStimulated Currents/Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy) permits us to shed some light on the structure/properties relationships.

Our expertise based on experimental physics has been applied to the optimization of high performance polymer based systems, e.g. PAEK/carbon fiber by exploring the role of configurational order and by proposing new sizing.

A major interest of the team is the tailoring of multifunctional polymer based hybrid composites. One route for elaborating flexible electrically conductive composites is the dispersion of high aspect ratio metallic nanowires in polymers. Flexible piezoelectric composites using ceramic submicronic particles are also an important topic of the group. Analogous hybrid submicronic composites with attractive magneto electric performances are currently under investigation.

The combination of the techniques used in the group allows us to obtain original data, for example on the major components of wood as well as on the role of the species on physical properties. The scanning of the molecular mobility of biological materials of increasing complexity (from synthetic peptidic fragments to the extracellular matrix) over a wide range completes classical static analyses ; it improves understanding of cardiovascular and neurodegenerative pathologies as well as skin ageing, and assists the designing of emerging biomaterials.

The team was rewarded with the “Edouard Calvet 2003” prize by the French Association of Calorimetry and Thermal Analysis (AFCAT), the International “TA ICTAC Award 2008” and the International « Dilip Das Gupta Memorial Award 2011 » of the Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society.